


For The Ones We Love

by TheGriefPolice



Series: Tony Needs a Little Help Sometimes [4]
Category: marvel cinimatic universe
Genre: Dyslexia, M/M, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Stony - Freeform, Stony family, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, dyslexic Tony Stark, just a little fluff piece, super family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 08:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18340394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGriefPolice/pseuds/TheGriefPolice
Summary: Tony has had trouble reading his whole life, but it wasn’t something that he particularly cared about. At least, not until Peter came along. When Tony finds an old photo of his mom reading to him, it kindles a need in him that even Steve doesn’t understand at first.





	For The Ones We Love

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little fluff piece I had on my mind, how y’all enjoy!

“You realize he’s two, right?” Steve asked, shifting Peter to his other hip and taking another picture book from Tony to toss into the shopping cart. 

“Yes, but it’s never too early to start reading to him.” Tony defended, crouching down to look at books on the lower shelf.

Steve sighed, trying not to look at the ten-or-so books they had already acquired amongst the food and clothes they had picked out. “Tony, I don’t think I’ll have the time to read all of these to him.”

Peter started kicking into Steve’s hip, saying he wanted to be put down. Steve obliged, but held onto his hand tightly.

“Who said you were going to be the one reading them.” Tony asked defensively as he turned around to put what Steve hoped was the last book into the cart.

“You hate reading aloud.” Steve said, relieved to find that was indeed the last book as Tony grabbed the cart and started pushing it towards the check-out.

“People can change.” Tony answered in a low tone, almost under his breath. 

“I wasn’t saying they couldn’t. I was just saying I’ve never heard you have an interest in it before.” Steve picked Peter back up, resulting in whining. He must be getting tired, Steve thought.

Tony’s lips thinned as he started loading things onto the conveyer, seeming to decided to not reply to his husband.

The dive home was tense, but Steve elected to ignore it instead of addressing it, too worried it may lead to a heated discussion. 

They didn’t normally go shopping, but Tony had wanted to have a family outing on one of his few days off. Steve had suggested a visit to the park instead, but Tony was adamant about shopping.

Now that Steve was thinking, it must have had something to do with the books. But Steve still didn’t understand why Tony had such a quick change of heart. He loved Peter with his whole life, but reading had never been something Tony enjoyed, much less out loud. 

After they had gotten home, they put Peter down for a nap as they put the groceries away. All in silence. Tony had taken the books and stuck them on a low shelf that was just for Peter’s things, then stormed off into the elevator. 

Steve sighed, sitting down in the couch and starting at the half-full shelf. Maybe things would be better tonight.

After dinner, Steve had watched the dishes as Tony gave Peter a bath and readied him for bed. It was so normal that Steve had almost forgotten about the whole reading thing until Tony pulled on of the smaller board books from Peter’s side table and cracked it open. Steve was sitting on the floor, waiting for Tony to start. 

A few seconds of silence passed before Tony stood up and handed the book to Steve, then walked out of the room. Steve stared at the book in his hand, then looked up at Peter.

“I’m sure daddy’s just tired,” Steve smiled, taking the chair Tony had been sitting in and starting the book.

When it was over, Steve kissed the top of Peter’s head and tucked him in tightly. With a flick of the light switch, the room went simi-dark save for a small night light into the corner. It was only when he stepped out of the room that he noticed Tony sitting on the floor next to the entryway, arms crossed over his knees and head buried into his elbow.

“Tony?” Steve asked, crouching down. He didn’t reach out, though, too afraid to set Tony off into an anxiety attack of some sort. 

Tony’s head rose a few inches, but otherwise remained buried. “It’s not that hard,” he whispered harshly.

Steve leaned back and folded his legs, sitting on the floor next to Tony. “What’s not that hard?”

“Reading aloud. To my son. It shouldn’t be this freaking hard!” Tony was an octave too high for Steve to think he was mad. 

No, this is what happens when Tony is so passionate it hurts. When he feels like everything had been crushed and turned into dust. All hope gone.

“Tony, I read to him every chance I get. He’s not being left to his own devices, I promise.” Steve reassured.

“That’s not,” Tony groaned, letting his head fall back into his crossed arms. His voice was muffled as he said, “that’s not the point, Steve.”

“Then what is the point,” Steve pushed.

Tony sat up, letting his head fall against the wall behind him. “I just wanted to be able to do this one thing.”

“Tony, you do lots of things. You help make him dinner, get his new clothes, play with him in the living room—a bunch of other things, too.”

“But none of those things are reading to him.” Tony whispered harshly. “It’s not the same.”

Steve decided to jump a track, going back to his earlier thoughts. “Why the sudden interest in all of this?”

Tony sighed, letting his head hang forward. “I just... I found a photo of me and my mom. I must have been three or four, only a bit before she died, but she was reading to me. And it just... sparked all of these memories. She would read to me so much and I wanted to do that for Peter. I wanted him to be able to pull on that some day. I don’t have stuff like that of my dad because he never did it. I don’t want Peter to look back and not have anything of the time I spent with him. 

“I thought if I could just do this one thing, maybe it would be a memory like that.” Tony let his legs cross in front of him, leaning forward over them to bury is face in his cross arms. “One simple thing.”

Steve was floored. There was no other way to describe all of the mixed emotions running through his head. Tony just wanted something special with Peter and what had Steve done? Practically make fun of Tony for his efforts. Steve felt worse than an ass. But he had to push all of that aside, because Tony needed Steve more than Steve needed to punch himself.

“Tony, you do so many memorable things with Peter. He lights up every time you walk in the room. He loves going to work with you, and when you play with him. There are so many special things that are just for you two.” Steve moves slowly to place a hand on Tony’s shoulder, giving him the time to push away if he wanted. When Tony didn’t, Steve gave a gentle squeeze. “You are nothing like your father.”

An that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tony burst into tears, leaning over and holding tightly to Steve’s shirt. It hurt Steve to hear his husband break like this. But the only thing Steve could really do is sit here with Tony as he cried.

Eventually, Tony let it go and stood up, dusting off his clothes and announcing that he would be in the lab. Steve wanted to discourage it, ask Tony to stay, but Steve knew he needed the alone time.

After three hours of staying up to read, Steve decided it would be a good time to grab Tony. If he stayed down there too long, Pepper would come after Steve for blood. 

After taking the elevator down to the lab, Steve walked several paces before hearing a very soft sound. Steve approached more softly, hiding his footsteps as he got closer to the voice.

“I’ll love your-you forever. I’ll love-like you for a-always, as... as long as I’m able, my baby be you-you’ll be.” 

Tony let out a groan, placing what Steve could only assume was the book onto one of the metal tables with a clunk. “It’s hopeless.”

The chirping on Dummy responded, seeming to be angry with Tony. 

“Look, it’s just... it’s not gonna happen. I’ve been at this for hours and I’ll I’ve been doing is stuttering my way through this same book!” Tony must have stood up, pushing his chair back by the sound of it. “It’s just not gonna help...”

Steve took a deep breath, finally turning the corner to see Tony with his head in his hands as he stood by his work bench.

“I thought you did pretty well.” Steve said softly.

Tony’s head jerked up, glaring at Steve.

Steve held his hands up in surrender. “Clint’s sitting with Peter.”

Tony let out a short laugh. “You better be careful about that or we’re going to end up with a toddler in the vents.”

Steve walked forward, taking a seat on a stool across from Tony. “Worse things could happen. Last time Natasha watched him, we had to hide the knives so he’d stop throwing them.”

Tony chuckled, leaning forward in his seat and propping his elbows on the table, head hammocked between his hands. 

Steve looked down at the book off to the side, reaching to pick it up. He flipped through the pages, trying his best to ignore Tony’s eyes.

“You know,” Steve said, closing the book and looking back up at Tony. “You are a genius.”

Tony glared. “You think I don’t know that! A genius who can fucking read! How stupid is that!” Tony pushes back for the table, standing up to pace on the side.

“That’s not what I meant.” Steve sighed, standing to walk over to Tony, but waiting to reach out to comfort him. “I mean you can memorize thousands of pages of code.”

“Where are you going?” Tony stopped to ask in a bitter tone.

“I’m was going to suggest you memorize the book.” Steve said flatly. “It’s never been that you can’t read, right? Because I watch you devour literature constantly. It’s just that you don’t know what to expect. So, prepare yourself before hand. Read the book before you read it to him, and all you need to do is use the book as some kind of reference. Then you can ‘read’ to Peter without having to worry too much about fumbling.”

Tony stood statue-still for a moment, dumbfounded. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Steve chuckled, shaking his head. “Sometimes you just get stuck in your own head.”

Tony walked over, pushing himself into Steve’s chest for a hug. “That’s why I’ve got you.”

It took a while for Tony to learn the just of all of the new books, but he was dedicated in a way Steve had only seen a few times before. 

But a week later, after they had given Peter his bath and dressed him into PJs, Tony had plopped down into the rocking chair with Peter in his lap and read. 

Steve stood against the doorway, watching Peter’s eyes flicker as Tony read. Before the story was over, Steve pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. 

Later that week, Steve had printed it out, sticking it in a folding frame with the picture of Maria reading to Tony on the other side. And there it sat, on the mantle, until the day Peter left for UNYC, taking it with him to set up in his dorm.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated but never expected!


End file.
